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Solving Peak Overlaps for Proximity Histogram Analysis of Complex Interfaces for Atom Probe Tomography Data

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 December 2020

Jens Keutgen ,
Andrew J. London  and
Oana Cojocaru-Mirédin
Jens Keutgen
Affiliation:
RWTH Aachen, I. Physikalisches Institut (1A), Aachen, Germany
Andrew J. London
Affiliation:
UK Atomic Energy Authority, Culham Science Centre, OxfordshireOX14 3DB, UK
Oana Cojocaru-Mirédin*
Affiliation:
RWTH Aachen, I. Physikalisches Institut (1A), Aachen, Germany
*
*Author for correspondence: Oana Cojocaru-Mirédin, E-mail: cojocaru-miredin@physik.rwth-aachen.de
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Abstract

Atom probe tomography is a powerful tool for investigating nanostructures such as interfaces and nanoparticles in material science. Advanced analysis tools are particularly useful for analyzing these nanostructures characterized very often by curved shapes. However, these tools are very limited for complex materials with non-negligible peak overlaps in their respective mass-to-charge ratio spectra. Usually, an analyst solves peak overlaps in the bulk regions, but the behavior at interfaces is rarely considered. Therefore, in this work, we demonstrate how the proximity histogram generated for a specific interface can be corrected by using the natural abundances of isotopes. This leads to overlap-solved proximity histograms with a resolution of up to 0.1 nm. This work expands on previous work that showed the advantage of a maximum-likelihood peak overlap solving. The corrected proximity histograms together with the maximum-likelihood peak overlap algorithm were implemented in a user-friendly software suite called EPOSA.

Keywords

atom probe tomographyinterfaces
Type
Materials Science Applications
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 27 , Issue 1 , February 2021 , pp. 28 - 35
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Microscopy Society of America

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